Letter from Charles to Dorothy, 1 May 1915

Transport Karroo
Off the Gallipoli coastline
1 May 1915

The last few days have been a very exciting experience. Talk about hell, well it could have been worse. The Australians have made a name for themselves by their gallant action.

I was not with the landing party being in charge of a hold party assisting the unloading of artillery. The infantry landed about 3am, we did not get in until 8:30am. Then the shell fire was so heavy the navy ordered us out again, the big shells were falling all round us. After some had exploded quite close and killed a few on the ship alongside us I beat a hasty retreat to the WC. We came back again about 1 o'clock, they were just crying out for artillery and we got a few landed in the afternoon and the infantry were mad with joy when our guns landed and they just rushed them and dragged them up and would not let an artillery man touch them until in position.

It was such an uneven battle, us having no guns ashore, the Turks were just blowing our chaps to blazes. I saw 12 taken off one ridge with one burst, the din and blaze from the shells bursting was awful. It was pitiful to look at the uneven battle but our chaps hung on like glue.

At night the Turks made a determined attack to shift us and at 1:30am in the morning the order went round to every transport in the harbour to lower boats ready to go ashore, it just broke me up, as it meant leaving so many wounded and a large amount of stores, but by providence our men held the ridge and did not have to retire.

Next day we went for a cruise attempting a landing at different other places and our 3 boats from Karroo were towed close into shore with a torpedo boat on either side, then the Turks opened with shrapnel and we had to "get" mighty quick. It was no joke, the shells dropping round and we could not reply as the Turks were well concealed and had dummy guns firing powder as a blind. This morning the Goeben warship fired 27 shells at us and did not hit a ship, they burst quite close and came right across the peninsula several miles. Quite a number of the men and officers from this ship have been hit. One young officer I liked very much from Duntroon named Hodgson has been very dangerously wounded.

I saw some Red Cross men carrying some wounded along the beach and a party of Turks were hidden close down near the beach with a machine gun and opened fire and everyone went down. It was pitiful to look at them. Luckily a warship alongside of us spotted the Turks and after a few shots they went skyhigh and so that was the end of them. I saw a Turk go about 200 feet in the air and come down again in one piece...